hello, i'm jim sciutto in new york, thanks for joining us today. following two major stories today. first, freedom for an american abducted by islamic militants in syria. peter curtis, the times we've seen him in the past, chilling. >> theo curtis, july 18.

>> after nearly two years of imprisonment, peter curtis is now a free man, escaping the state of another journalist, james foley who was brutally executed by isis fighters. we'll have the latest on curtis' ordeal. also today, a scary wake-up for people in napa valley, california, ace strong earthquake shakes the area. dozens are injured, while wineries are weighing how much damage has been done to that multibillion dollar industry. we'll begin, though, in california, in a state of emergency after a strong 6.0 earthquake rattled bay area residents out of their beds early this morning. downtown napa took the brunt of the impact, causing structural fires and historical buildings to collapse. at least 120 people were injured, 3 critically, including a young child. but luckily, to this point new york reported deaths. across the region, stretches of roadways split in two. the picturesque wineries that

mark the countryside seeing extensive damage. in a news conference, just moments ago, the fire chief laid out concerns about the damaged areas. the majority of what we've been doing for the last several hours is assessing the damage of a lot of our buildings in the downtown area, making sure that there was no imminent rescue and happy to say that there has not been. >> according to the u.s. geological survey, 15,000 people experienced severe shaking but hundreds of thousands more felt the jolt. even far from the epicenter. this was the strongest earthquake to hit the bay area since 1989, 25 years. now the question on everyone's mind, is another quake, perhaps a bigger one, on the way? let me bring in cnn's kyung lah live in napa, california. i know at this point, tremendous amount of structural damage but worry of aftershocks.

we were talking earlier in the day there's more than 50% chance of them. have you felt them already or more expected to come? >> reporter: more are expected to come. the prediction is the next 24 hours, even stretching through the week, aftershocks are expected to come, it could be as strong as 5.0, that's part of the reason i'm standing this far away from this building. what you're seeing here is something that we're seeing throughout the historic area, the bricks on the ground, gaping holes through the top of the brick building. and then if you go all the way across, take a look at the other corner, you can see how that corner has also collapsed. part of bricks fell down. take a look below, a tree just snapped like that. that quickly. so that's why the authorities have asked us to stay a bit further back, because the concern is that aftershocks are unpredictable and if a building's compromised the concern is if there's a 5.0, there could be a collapse. this is just one snapshot of what we're seeing throughout the

downtown napa area. a lot of historic buildings, a lot of brick, buildings that have not been able to retrofit for these earthquakes. so a 6.0 certainly felt by many people, talking about how terrifying it is, but it's also led to a lot of structural damage. there are water issues throughout the area and a quarter of this city, the people who live here, 20,000 out of the 80,000 remain without power. so a lot of today is cleanup, but also a lot of concern about what could come should an aftershock hit. >> earlier we heard the fire chief mention reports of the smell of natural gasp the first pictures, video, we saw a lot of house fires. makes you think of gas leaks and potential for fires following on. is that still a concern there, as you're traveling around the area? do you smell gas as a warning sign? >> reporter: we have not personally smelled it, but what we are hearing from the authorities who are going out to these very different areas

throughout the area, throughout the city, is that, yes, they are smelling it, people are continuing to call in, to say they are smelling natural gasp a huge concern, whenever there's an earthquake, an earthquake of this magnitude, the concern is this broken gas line, broken water lines, and the gas being if someone doesn't think about what they're smelling and they light a match, that's when you have these fires. so that's a big concern today, we are still hearing sirens go off, still seeing emergency vehicles, drive back and forth. this is still very much, jim, an active situation, active hunt for those gas lines, as well as making sure that everyone is okay. so far, though, no reports of missing people. >> no question, with a quake like this, it's initial damage and damage that can follow and tremor that might follow. thanks very much, kyung lah. i want to bring in cnn meteorologist chad meyers.

when people hear california and they hear earthquake, of course they fear the big one, right? could this be a sign of the big one is coming? one question i have, there's a lot of talk of the ring of fire around the pacific and connecting these plates. you've had quakes in japan, new zeala zealand, chile, around the ring of fire. when that happens, does that increase the chance that the big one is coming there and when you see a small quake like this, that is a sign that the big one is more than it was? >> i don't think one earthquake says that. i don't think, when you go to the doctor and see the sign that says medicine is not an exact science, geology's not an exact science either. you can't say a plus b equals c. it's not the pythagorean here toium. the shape map by usgs, maybe 30 miles one way or another. here's 1989. the big one, 1906 earthquake, 7.8 to the 8.0. here's what happened today, jim.

i'll take two blocks, my shake blocks, two pieces of dirt, two plates, going leak this, one decide id to go to the nor, that would be the pacific plate because it always does that one decided to stay in the same spot, the north american plate, a fracture of the san andreas fault. when they slipped that rupture is what the people felt. now the reason why this was a significant shake today is because it was shallow. only about eight miles deep, maybe seven miles deep what happen really rattled the people, just rattled to the surface of the earth, not 200 miles deep so that rattling has a chance to attenuate a bit. that's what people felt today all of those big shakes during that one event today. but there have been many, many events. you talked about the aftershocksen this is what it looks like now. there's the original shake. look at other dots, 2.0, 3.oh not up to 4 yet but if you get a 7.0 quake, your aftershock could be 6. a 5.0, aftershock can be 4.

talk about 6.0, you've heard it called 6.1, usgs said it's a 6.05, this doun't know if they'l rund up or down. there could 59.0 aftershock. you get a building where bricks are hanging off, that's where all of the people need to be back from the buildings. a 3.0 could knock more bricks off, zblim we'jim. >> tremors could continue days or weeks after a tremor like this. >> we think of geological time, our lifetime, a week or a month or even a year of aftershocks, not out of the question. and japan still seeing aftershocks from their quake. one year for the earth is not a long time one year for you and me is a long time. one year for my hamster is a third of his life. the life of the earth, a year of aftershock is not out of the

question. >> great point. thanks, chad meyers. we'll come back to you later. the family of peter curtis is celebrating tonight, after nearly two years held by islamic militants in syria, the american journalist is finally heading home. safely. also ahead, no warning before an earthquake hits, but technology is catching up to the threat. and could give people a crucial few seconds to brace for the big one. we'll have that after this break. ♪ ♪

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welcome back. we're following developments related to the morning's strong quake in the area around napa, california. in just a moment, a look how an early warning system performed in the moments just before the quake. but first, overseas the latest

on a breaking story out of the middle east. an aamerican journalist, held by islamist rebels in syria almost two years, has been freed. peter curtis captured in 2012, he's expected to be reunited with his family soon. in a statement just released by the family, thehis mother had t say, my heart is full at extraordinary, dedicated incredible people, too many to name individually who have become my friends and tirelessly helped us over many months. please know we will be eternally grateful. we are so relieved theo is healthy and safe and finally headed home after his ordeal. but we are also deeply saddened by the terrible, unjustified killing of james foley at the hand of the islamic state in iraq and syria, isis. nick paton walsh is on the story for us. nick, just to make clear, great news, particularly in a week we

awe saw brutal murder of james foley, but to our knowledge, curtis was not held by isis, held by another islamic group? >> reporter: that's right. he was as far as we know held by a terrorist organization, also has links to al qaeda, but considered less extreme. less extreme than isis. he, we understand, picked up after he crossed into syria, in october 2012, held in aleppo, held with another american, matthew shrea, for months, they plotted to escape together. on the day they executed the escape, theo pushed matthew up, matthew got out through the window but couldn't pull theo through, faced the choice to run and look after himself, having hoped he could have saved them both. i spoke to matthew, delighted peter curtis is free. interesting details how he got out. the fact he emerged through the golan heights, israel and syria,

complex part of syria and the civil war to the southwest, when he was originally taken to the north near aleppo, details coming out, and the family's statement, recognition of the qatari government and u.s. along with private individuals behind negotiating the release. what they say are humanitarian grounds, whether admit they're not fully aware of the full technical details. >> it raises that question. just the contrast, you can't understate the contrast with what we saw earlier in the week with jim foley now with curtis here. but is there any concern that, for instance, money might have been paid in there's a difference of opinion between the way the u.s. handles american hostages there, they do not pay ransoms, european nations do, a lot of criticism for that, for funding these groups. any indication that a ransom was paid? >> not at this stage, no. there's adequate assurances from the family statement, they don't think that was necessarily the case. but there will always be the

suggestions when people released from kidnapped situations, it is entirely possible perhaps al nusra, who looking at many occasions when they clashed with isis, two al qaeda groups fighting amongst syrian rebel ra ra ranks, al nusra looking for positive pr points, especially western eyes but details will remain unclear for some time. >> you made the point, in the realm of terror groups, al nusra used to be considered bad guys but compared to isis, they're moderate, i hate to use that term, but that's exactly what they're seeking, better pr. great analysis from nick paton walsh. in a disaster a few seconds can make a huge difference. until now people in california did not get that much time to brace for an earthquake. ahead, we'll tell you how a new technology could be changing that. your 16-year-old daughter

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at the exact moment that the earthquake struck in california this morning, something else extraordinary happened. >> earthquake, earthquake! light shaking expected in three seconds. [ sirens ] >> incredible. newly developed warning systems sent out an alert over television, radio, internet and

cell phone networks, gave people in san francisco about ten seconds advance notice that a quake was on its way. richard allen the director of seismological laboratory that developed this system at university of california at berk lip joining me by telephone. i want to begin with a basic point, ten seconds does not sound like a lot of time, but as you build up that time, 10, 20, 30 seconds, that gives, i suppose, things, for instance, high-speed trains can slow down so they don't derail, elevators can stop, et cetera. can you explain to our viewers how a very short warning can make a difference? >> well, absolutely right. a few seconds makes all of the difference. individuals you can take cover under a sturdy table and reduce the likelihood that you have ceiling tile falling on your head. many injuries caused by those things this a major earthquake but things like elevator can open at the closest floor so you

don't end up with hundreds trapped in a shaft. trains can stop. the b.a.r.t. train uses our demonstration system. chemical facilities can isolate chemicals, reducing spilgs and things like that. so it's chipping away at things that cause all of the destruction in an earthquake should reduce overall impact. >> so, explain to our viewers, how does it work, how does it sense what's going to happen underground before it happens? >> well, so what we do, we detect the very beginnings of the earthquake. when the earthquake begins, it radiates low energy initial lip we detect that, we use it to predict the strong shaking that then follows. so that's why it's only a few seconds of warning. the amount of warning you get depends how far you are from the epicenter of the earthquake, seconds, tens of seconds, best-case scenario in california is a minute's worth of warning. >> how can you increase those seconds over time from 10, 20,

30, 40 seconds to give people more time to react, trains to stop, elevators to open, et cetera? >> we can still squeeze out a few additional seconds. we're working very hard to absolutely minimize the delay it takes to pass the data that we need from sensors to push out the alert. right now we are looking for the funding to build a full-blown public system for the u.s. west coast and one of the things that we need that funding for is to reduce the delays in getting the data around and put some additional centers in. additional centers close to epicenters and reducing delays for passing data around will give it few extra seconds. >> is there's a warning that already goes out to residents in the area, for instance, were people getting text messages, alerts by e-mail before this happened? >> so, no, it is not. this is not a public system. it's a demonstration system the alerts only go out to a few test

users, about 150 users get alerts now. the reason for that is that the system is not robust. it doesn't have the necessary infrastructure behind it to provide guarantees about its performance. what we would like to do is develop this into a full blown public system for the west coast of the use. it would cost us about $120 million to roll this out, oregon, california, washington, and then we would be able to provide openly alerts to all of the population. >> so $120 million you could cover those three states, really at epicent they, when americans think about the risk of earthquake, california, oregon, and awashington, get it out so everyone's getting messages on their cell phones, et cetera? >> exactly right. the way we envision doing it it's a partnership with the universities and u.s. geological survey along the west coast, berkeley, cal tech, the intent

is to develop the system to create the kernel of alert and have the private sector to deliver it users. there would be a plethora of apps to get the warning. sophisticated users could get additional income, value added information provided by the private sector. we need that kernel of alert across all three states and from there build the full-blown system. >>age ma, an app that can tell you an earthquake is coming. in california, certainly worries about the big one. richard allen university of california at berkeley. broken gas lines blame ford starting several fires inside a mobile home community in napa. firefighters couldn't do much when they arrived because the quake took out water lines. here's laura anthony of kgo affiliate. >> reporter: this is the scene this morning at napa valley mobile home park where four mobile homes were completely destroyed, burnt to the ground in the immediate aftermath of

the earthquake. first the gas mains broke, then the water lines. when firefighters got here, they had no water pressure, they were unable to put out the fires, all they could do is evacuate residents and try to contain them. they brought in their own water tenders and were able to put out the flames. but, as you can see, this and three others, a total loss. good news, no injuries, no fatalities, at this location. i'm kgo's laura anthony. >> incredible scenes from the earthquake aftermath. imagine two years in c captivi captivity, held by terrorists, not knowing if you'll see family or friends. that's the ordeal that end ford peter curtis, the merge journalist to be eunited with his family. the masked executioner that killed james foley, but bringing him to justice may be a tougher task.

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welcome back. i'm jim sciutto. american peter theo curtis, held captive by islamist militants for almost two years syria has been released hand everybody to u.n. peace keepers in the golan heights. u.s. national security adviser susan rice issues a statement that reads in part, quote, today the american people share in the joy and relief that theo's family feels and we look forward to a safe return home. we will continue to work tirelessly on behalf of all americans held overseas, so that they can be reunited with their families as well. cnn's justice report evan perez joins us live from ferguson, missouri. interesting details about this release that the u.n. was involved, he went across the boarder to israel. what do we know about what led up to his release, particularly in a week where a few days ago we saw the grisly death of

american jim foley? >> well, jill we know five hours ago he was handed over to u.n. peacekeepers on the border with israel and syria. how he's on his way to being reunited with his family in israel. we know that the u.s. has been working with a couple of dozen countries, they said, to try to figure out if they can make inroads and contact with whoever was holding him. now we know from the u.s. government that he was being held by al nusra, one of the islamist groups fighting the syrian government in the civil war there. we don't know exactly where he was held. we believe that at one point held in aleppo, way up north. we don't know exactly how he made his way down south. those are details i'm sure we're going to hear in the next couple of days. >> now, al nusra is not isis but these are both terrorist groups. they're both -- they both have al qaeda ties, et cetera. is there any indication why al nusra would give up an american whereas of course isis killed an

american, for instance, any questions whether a ransom was paid? >> reporter: well, the -- the u.s. government says they were not directly involved in the negotiation. they're aware there were private efforts being made and a third government involved in the efforts. but the u.s. government, as you know, jim, has a policy of not to talk to terrorist groups and not to do any negotiations with the terrorist groups. so they weren't directly involved. so that -- this had to have been done privately. >> we can't understate the contrast between what we saw a few days ago with james foley and the tremendous relief his family in this case. thanks to evan perez, our justice reporter, live from missouri. with james foley's execution posted for the world to see, the man who murdered the american journalist may now be the world's most famous or infamous, we should say, terrorist.

telling candy crowley hours ago, british intelligence officials are close to identifying the isis extremist with that london acce accent. foley disappear two years ago reporting for the "global post," the pentagon revealed they tried to rescue him earlier this summer. a memorial mass held in rochester, new hampshire, seeing pictures there, foley's mother and father joined dozens of supporters at the service. foley's parents stood in front of the mourners and gave thanks to everyone. the crowd gave them a standing ovation. those are his parents right there, painful moment for them. in iraq today, another desperate iation with people facing a massacre at the hands of the militant group isis. you may remember the plight of the azeyazidis. now another town, another minority under siege. anna coren has the latest.

>> reporter: the u.n. special representative for iraq has brought it to the attention of the international community saying that they could be a massacre take place in this township, north of baghdad. you are talking about a township of 20,000 people, it's being cut off, under siege for the last two months since isis made their advance. there is no water, there is no power, and they're getting very low on food and medical supplies. but this u.n. special representative is saying, the international community must act now to stop this massacre, poe sengs massacre, from happening. the majority of the people are turkmen she yap as far as isis is concerned, they need to be killed, they're considered the enemy. there is this appeal for the international community, not iraqi military to act. they have receive nod humanitarian aid drops and there

haven't been air strikes around the area. so they're really is an appeal to act now, otherwise there will be a massacre take place. >> another looming massacre at the hands of isis. thanks very much, anna coren, live in north iraq. if you want to help the iraqi refugees, you can find ways to help on cnn.com/impact. you can find links to groups like save the children, the u.n. refugee agency, mercy corps and shelter box. all of that at cnn.com/impact. back to the earthquake next. when you hear the word napa, you probably think wine there might not be a more important region in the country for the wine industry and that area's reeling right now. we'll talk about that right after this.

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if the industry that much of california is known for, that's wine. today's strong 6.0 earthquake is rattling more than just bottles on the shelves. unfortunately the quake couldn't have come at a worst time. napa vally, it's prime harvest season. forcing to survey the season rather than bottling the wine.

the assessment won't be known for days. alison kosik has been talking to winery owners. we've seen pictures, toppled bottles of wine, barrels on top of each other. how concerned are they? >> they're really concerned. i spoke with several vineyard owners. it happened right where a lot of the vineyards are in napa valley. you see the bottles overturned. guess what? barrels that have wine overturned as well, the stoppers on the barrels came out, so all of the wine is pouring out. a huge industry. you know how huge? 90% of u.s. wine exports, they come out of california. the industry, no doubt, generates a lot of money. generates $13 billion just in napa county, $25 billion in california. and to the broader u.s. economy, the wine produced in napa add another $50 billion to the u.s. economy. i talked with jennifer thompson of thompson vineyards in napa.

her biggest concern, what structural issues did the earthquake cause, to the irrigation systems, levees, reservo reservoirs. she does know a place where she stores a will the of historic wines, that storage facility has been destroyed. listen to this. >> here at thompson vineyards we lost approximately 100 cases of wines that are produced directly from our grapes with the winery partners that we work for and unfortunately, after the earthquake, 100 cases have been a total loss. we've had other winemakers since the incident reach out to us and let us know that historical data has been lost, they'd like to help us replace it. we're very thankful for their offer. it would be too early i think, to make an economic guess at how much has been lost. for us, it's certainly over

$10,000. >> so it's interesting to say the vineyards weren't really damaged, they're flexible. but it's the historic bottles of wine, for instance, destroyed. those are priceless. it's like losing back in the day at the library, the index card system, like the index card system wiped out. >> they keep wines for decades it's like a historical record for the winery. >> exactly. as far as what impact this earthquake is going to have on the wine industry has a whole, that's hard to tell. next year we may see impact because of the vineyards put out money to repair and replace, they may go ahead and raise prices on wine bottles. >> it's not just broken bottles, barrels, potential damage to irrigation systems, et cetera, and during the worst time of year. >> exactly, couldn't have been at a worst time. >> great talking to you. you'll be back to talk more about the wine industry. i'm mouth is watering as we talk

about there is story. real damage to an important industry there. tomorrow, the funeral of michael brown. his death set off days of chaotic protests. will his funeral set off more unrest, more violence? but first, this week's cnn hero, adam green uses a nature refuge to expand the minds and opportunities of children from the poorest congressional district in the country. >> reporter: bronx river is one of the most hidden gems of new york city. if you look in one direction you'll see very industrial sites. look in other direction, you'll see tons of birds and fish and all kinds of native plant life. i grew up in new york city which is an island, surrounded by water. but i wasn't a boater at all. i ended up volunteering at a junior high school in east

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michael brown was supposed to be starting college this month. instead, his parents will bury him tomorrow. right now people seeking justice in brown's shooting death are gathering for a rally in ferguson, missouri. the funeral for the 18-year-old brown will be at a baptist church in st. louis, nearly 500 people are expected to attend. the white house as well as sending three officials to the service. hours ago, supporters of the officer who fatally shot brownas marched on their known the streets of ferguson. supporters say they have raised $400,000 for the officer. wilson has gone in to hiding. our stephanie is joining us from ferguson. tomorrow this is a concern the funeral might turn in to another

demonstration or rally. what's the mood? much more peaceful than recent days? >> very much peaceful at this point. i should point out about the church they are expecting 5,000 people there. the sanctuary itself can hold 2500 people. and then they have overflow rooms that will accommodate another 2500. there's no plan for it to be broadcast outside. but they expect there to be a lot of attendance and expect police will be there for crowd control to make sure the streets are flowing through, as necessary. overall, people are focusing on saying good-bye to this young man. that's what the focus of tomorrow is. it is expected to be a highly intense memorial to remember this 18-year-old tomorrow. >> 5,000, a true community gathering. i know you have been there for some time. can you explain the change in mood from recent days from the anger in the clashes with police and now more peaceful events leading up to peaceful demonstrations leading up to

tomorrow. how did the mood change over time? >> it has been pretty dramatic in some ways from when i got here and the clashes were happen tong what we have seen the last few days. the last night i was here overnight there were zero arrests. the fact it went from having big numbers to having no contention happening at all is a big testament to the fact -- also they work were working on both sides, police working on their tactics and captain johnson says they have been working to evaluate what worked and what didn't and adjust it for the next night and community leaders focused on peace and making people focus on sure, march, protest, be upset but in a fashion that doesn't detract from the reason we're out here. that's what they are saying. we have seen the calm that's come to the area. the other thing i have to point out, it is extremely hot out here as well during the day. people being a it will more cautious about that, as well. >> that's a relief to hear

certainly. you mentioned the st. louis police department will be doing security for the event tomorrow. we have seen the tension between the community there and the police department. do you expect to see that tension flair up around the funeral or expect a much more peaceful mood to continue in to the funeral for michael brown? >> there is that concern that people are worried about that. the police aren't saying how they plan to provide for this protection around the memorial service tomorrow morning, which does start at 10:00 a.m. central time here tomorrow. at the same time, a lot of people are choosing to focus on the peace and that's what they want to see happen and foe can cuss more on mike brown. that's what i have heard people talking about more and less on the anger that we saw this time last week. >> that's great to hear. certainly a tribute. 5,000 people expected to turn out for an 18-year-old boy shot down just as he was meant to be beginning college. thank you very much.

well, the bay area hasn't been hit by a earthquake this strong in 25 years, a quarter century. napa and the surrounding area is facing what could be an expensive and exhausting rebuilding. more on the earthquake in northern california right after this break. ♪

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hundreds of thousands of people were awakened by this

morning's 6.0 quake north of san francisco. for the people caught in the worst of it, the experience was harrowing. have a look at this. >> it's an earthquake. >> the biggest earthquake i have ever been in. i was asleep on the couch downstairs you know you wake up. i thought it was a thunderstorm and all of a sudden i see the chandelier in the dining room shaking. things on tables falling off, hear glass breaking. i ran upstairs to regroup with my family. even my little brother, he's 11 years old, he was startled and rattled as well. >> i was asleep and woken from my fairly deep sleep. it felt like a ride, being on a roller coaster and felt longer than it was. felt like occurring for five minutes. >> i do not have power or water.

i'm first of all thankful i'm okay and everyone i know is okay, too. >> it gives me the chills. this morning, when it was quiet down here, it is -- it's like a scene out of a movie. it's crazy and eerie. >> it looks like a fairly typical kind of earthquake. the magnitude is much larger than we have seen for a long time. >> the hardest part was having to deal with the lack of water for the incident and knowing you had structures immediately threatened by the ones that are burning and pretty much knew you were destine to lose additional units without the water supply. having to look at something and getting somebody out, if you know there wasn't a lot of hope in saving that particular unit. very difficult. we currently have four structures to the ground, mobile homes. and six to eight with varying degrees of damage. >> anyone hurt? >> at this time, we have no

report of injuries and none of the occupants are reported missing, associated with the units that are burned to the ground. you are in the cnn newsroom. we are following two major stories today. in the last few hours an american held hostage by islam ikist rebels in syria has been freed. peter curtis had been there since 2012. northern california hit by the largest earthquake in 25 years. that's where we begin now. governor jerry brown issuing a state of emergency as cleanup from a strong 6.1 earthquake begins across northern california. downtown napa took the brunt of the impact causing structural fires and historical buildings, like this one, to collapse. 120 people were injured, six

critically, including a young child. thankfully no one was killed. across the region, entire stretches of roadway are split in two and the picturesque wineries that mark the napa countryside received extensive damage. officials addressed concerns about the city's infrastructure. >> the majority of what we have been doing for the last several hours is assessing damage of a lot of our buildings in the downtown area, making sure there was no imminent rescue and happy to say there has not been. >> reporter: according to the u.s. gee logical survey, 15,000 people experienced severe shaking. hundreds of thousands more felt the jolt. even very far from the epicenter. this was the strongest quake to hit the bay area since 1989. the question on everyone's mind, is another quake, the big one, on